K.Gudi, BR Hills, 27,28 and 291210

January 1, 2011

It was lovely to be able to introduce our family to the forests of Karnataka, even though the driving had them scared stiff at times…people from the US can’t cope with unruly traffic…they are too used to ruly conditions :)

What better way to start on the trip than with the sunrise in the fields on our way out….?

We crossed over the Arkavathi Bridge, too:
We took a brief detour to see Sivansamudram Falls, where the flow was much less than when I visited in November:
We reached the JLR resort at K.Gudi to find a festive green star on top of the Gol Ghar:
We went to settle down in the tents, but I was also tickled by the "Lo ghut"!
Some of the
WILD BOAR
around the campus are quite used to humans, and I caught a particularly human lazy-bones look on the face of this one. He seems to have come straight out of the Asterix comics!
On our safaris, we saw a lot of
BARKING DEER:
several
GAUR
or wild bison:
Here's the radio in the jeep, through which the drivers communicate with each other about interesting sightings:
Near the campus was a beautiful
SAUSAGE TREE (Kigelia pinnata)
...you can see how it got its name!
Here are the beautiful flowers of the tree:
There were a pair of majestic
BRAHMINY KITES
at the water body near the campus:
On one safari we saw this
RED SPURFOWL:
The next day, we also visited the Biligiri Rangana Temple:
Here are some of us:
My niece and nephew were thrilled by the antics of the
BONNET MACAQUES
(of the huge group that were Kalyan's great friends at the JLR resort, only four are present now!)
Here's a mother with a tiny baby:
We enjoyed the spectacle of one of them doing acrobatics in order to eat the fruit of the
JACKFRUIT
tree:
Moving a little up the evolutionary ladder, I photographed this devotee with the 'nAmam'on his forehead:
We saw several
CHITAL (Spotted Deer)
during the safaris, including this magnificently-antlered stag:
After the temple, we also went to visit
Gorukana
and I was very happy to meet Jadeswamy and Ganesh. Here's Ganesh:
And I was really thrilled when Ganesh told me that Dr. Sudarshan was actually there, and introduced me to him! I instantly asked Ganesh (who is an excellent photographer) to snap me with him!
Ganesh showed us around the campus, and I caught these mating
COTTON STAINER BUGS:
Ganesh also talked about the tiger that had been active around the area, and showed us this pugmark:
Back at the JLR campus, I wandered around, and got this beautiful
LESSER YELLOWNAPE (thanks, Ramit)
pecking with its beak, and red tongue, at the wood:
In the faint light, I also managed to get a
BLACK-HOODED ORIOLE:
We saw several
ELEPHANTS
on the safaris, and were able to observe their behaviour for a while:
On one safari, we sighted the
BLACK-FACED LANGUR
leaping across the tree-tops:
And in a pond, between VGKK and K. Gudi, we sighted these
POND TERRAPINS:
Of course, I can't resist also including this
LION
at the Mysore Palace!
a
Some of the deer at the campus, too, are used to humans:
Here is the list of creatures (I haven't included the butterfly list as I didn't spot many)
Babbler, Jungle
Barbet, Coppersmith
Barbet, White-cheeked
Cornmorant, Greater
Cormorant, Little
Crow, House
Crow, Jungle
Darter, Oriental
Dove, Spotted
Dove, Laughing
Drongo, Ashy
Drongo, Black
Drongo, Racket-tailed
Drongo, White-bellied
Eagle, Crested Serpent
Egret, Cattle
Egret, Little
Flycatcher, Asian Paradise
Flycatcher, Tickell's Blue
Heron, Grey
Heron, Pond
Ibis, Black
Ibis, Black-headed
Iora,Common
Kingfisher, White-breasted
Kite, Black
Kite, Brahminy
Laughingthrush, Malabar
Leafbird, Golden-fronted
Martin, House
Minivet, Scarlet
Minivet,Small
Mynah. Common
Mynah, Jungle
Mynah, Hill
Nuthatch, Chestnut-bellied
Oriole, Black-hooded
Oriole, Golden
Parakeet, Plum-headed
Parakeet, Rose-ringed
Prinia, Ashy
Prinia, Jungle
Spurfowl, Red
Sunbird, Purple-rumped
Sunbird, Purple
Swallow, Barn
Swallow, Red-rumped
Swift, Common
Treepie, Rufous
Wagttail, Grey
Warbler, Greenish Leaf
Woopdpecker, Greater Flameback
Woodpecker, Streak-throated
Yellow-nape, Lesser
Mammals
Boar, Wild
Cat, Civet
Deer, Barking
Deer, Spotted
Elephant
Gaur
Langur, Black-faced
Sambar
Squirrel, Malabar Giant
Amphibians
Terrapin, Pond
Assorted Frogs and Toads

Let me close with these sunset pics, which give the appearance of the forest on fire!

All in all, it was a very satisfying trip, though our family was rather disappointed at not sighting tigers or leopards. Since all the trails except one have been shut down by the Forest Department, I did not see this as likely to happen..and it didn’t. However, I told them that our post-dusk sighting of a Civet Cat was a rarer one than a sighting of a tiger!

I do hope that they open up the trails before I visit BR Hills again….